UK Front Page Archive (July 20′ – Present)

Boris Johnson is backing calls for NHS and care home staff to be given mandatory COVID vaccines – that’s the lead in The Times.

The Guardian says the government could face legal challenges if it opts to force all NHS and care home workers to have COVID vaccine jabs.

Scientists advising ministers on COVID have told them more research is needed before children are vaccinated en masse. That’s the lead in The Daily Telegraph.

All adults in England will be able to book a COVID vaccination by the end of the week, the head of the NHS has said, reports the Metro.

As nine million people live under new COVID restrictions, the i newspaper says there will be no further unlocking for another four weeks and possibly longer

Boris Johnson will announce a four-week delay to the end of lockdown as COVID cases continue to soar, the Daily Mirror writes.

Ministers have been told that a four-week delay to easing all COVID restrictions would probably prevent thousands of hospital admissions, The Guardian reports.

The i warns about an expected shortage of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines.

Metro leads with Matt Hancock’s defence of his performance as health secretary during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around a fifth of pubs face closure by August after being devastated by the COVID crisis, the Daily Mirror claims.

The i says only 2% of people admitted to hospital with the Indian (Delta) variant had received two doses of a COVID vaccine, and two thirds were unvaccinated.

The Times reports on “COVID chaos” at airports as Britons rush to leave Portugal before it moves to the government’s red list, bringing extra requirement for travellers.

The i draws our attention to the continuing risk of “long COVID”, particularly for young and unvaccinated people.

The Sunday Telegraph says 12 to 15-year-olds could be vaccinated against COVID in August, before going back to school.

Children could be given COVID jabs within weeks after the Pfizer vaccine was ruled safe for 12 to 15-year-olds, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Daily Express reports that education tsar Sir Kevan Collins has quit, blaming Number 10 for underfunding COVID catch-up lessons.

The Daily Mirror leads with “Johnson’s schools betrayal” after the education catch-up tsar resigned after getting “a fraction of the cash needed for the COVID scheme”.

The Daily Express also splashes on the lack of any new COVID deaths being reported on Tuesday for the first time since March 2020.

The Guardian’s front page focuses on plans to extend the school day to allow pupils to catch up on time lost during COVID lockdowns.Unions have criticised the plans as “inadequate”, the paper reports.

The Daily Telegraph leads on the mounting pressure on Boris Johnson to delay the final step of easing COVID restrictions on 21 June following Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to delay on Tuesday.

Metro splashes on the UK reporting no new COVID deaths in the most recent 24-hour period.

The Times reports that the school day will be extended by half an hour under a £15bn COVID rescue plan to help Britain’s children to catch up after months of disrupted education. 

Britain’s “more jabs, more jobs” bounceback from COVID-19 is paying off with a record recovery, with economists now expecting us to beat all major rich nations this year with 7.2% growth, the Daily Express writes.

Scientists have urged the government to speed up second doses of COVID vaccines and delay a decision on easing lockdown restrictions on 21 June in an attempt to tackle rising cases, The Guardian reports.

The Daily Telegraph reports that richer countries must urgently give more COVID vaccines to poorer nations or risk new variants emerging that could bring about future lockdowns, according to leading bodies.

The government wants everyone in the top nine priority groups to be protected by two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine before 21 June – that’s on the front of The Times.

The Daily Express reports on the race to offer all over 50s a second COVID-19 jab by 21 June, when it is hoped that restrictions in England will end.